In an unprecedented development, US President Joe Biden has signed an executive order to regulate AI. The purpose of the order is to regulate the development and usage of Artificial Intelligence aka AI. Biden has invoked the Defense Production Act, which was previously used during the COVID-19 pandemic. The signing of the order assumes importance because UK is gearing up to host AI Safety Summit under Rishi Sunak’s leadership.
Regulate AI Information
As per this new law, companies involved in the development of AI systems will be required to notify the US federal government when they develop new AI technologies. These new AI systems will have potential implications for US national security, national economic security, or national public health. The companies should also require companies to share results with the government of certain safety tests as part of RegulateK. The bill also envisages the need to establish an AI safety and security board including ordering of safety testing.
AI in Education
Recently, the White House announced that seven AI companies such as Microsoft, Amazon, Anthropic, Google, Inflection, Meta, and OpenAI had voluntarily agreed to comply with the AI safety standards. The order signed by President Biden advocates that AI should not be used by landlords and federal contractors. However, the order encourages the use of AI in education. This means educators can continue to create quality content to educate people about the real benefits, features, and usage of the various AI tools.
Biden asked his administration to expand bilateral, multilateral, and multistakeholder consultations on AI. The intention is to build a strong international framework in a bid to Regulate AI. A fact sheet revealed by the White House revealed that the Biden Government had consulted countries like India, EU, UK, Japan, Australia, Germany, France, Italy, South Korea, Kenya, and Israel before drafting the executive order. The actions taken by President Biden is in tandem with the UK’s AI Safety Summit, India’s chairmanship of the Global Partnership on AI, and the current discussions at the UN.
Close Monitoring by India
India is closely monitoring the implementation of this order as the country is gearing up to convene a meeting in December 2023. PM Narendra Modi had urged member nations to adopt a global framework on AI during the recently concluded G20 summit. It’s to be noted that EU had previously passed tough legislation to regulate AI. There are reports that leaders like Biden, Justin Trudeau, Germany, and France will not be attending the summit. US VP Kamala Harris, Italian PM Giorgia Meloni, and EU president Ursula von der Leyen are attending the UK summit.
Going forward, AI will be the future and the relevant Government has been taking steps to track and monitor the usage of the new technology. There should be a uniform framework for the broader implementation of AI tools and platforms. This is because the user doesn’t know how and where the information is being stored.
